The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced the dates for its Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative program for 2024. The annual five-day human trafficking awareness, outreach, identification and prevention initiative aims to educate commercial motor vehicle drivers, motor carriers, law enforcement officers and the general public about the crime of human trafficking.

The program will offer information on the signs of human trafficking to look for and what to do if you suspect someone is being trafficked.

CVSA's Human Trafficking Awareness dates are:

• United States: Jan. 8-12, 2024

• Canada: Feb. 19-23, 2024.

• Mexico: March 11-15, 2024

Truckers on the Front Lines

According to the United Nations, human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception with the aim of exploiting them for profit. Men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime, which occurs in every region of the world, including North America.

Human traffickers often use violence, fraudulent employment agencies, and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.

CVSA explains that human traffickers sell their victims in cities and rural areas, along our nation’s roadways, and at numerous locations and events.

"Because traffickers use our transportation systems, including commercial motor vehicles, to transport victims, it’s imperative that the law enforcement community and industry partners be involved in fighting this crime," CVSA explains on its website. "These stakeholders need to learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to report it, as their involvement is vital in assisting in victim recovery."

In preparation for the 2024 Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative, CVSA is offering human trafficking awareness resources to its membership and working with Truckers Against Trafficking to distribute wallet cards, posters and window decals.

Fill out CVSA’s online form to order complimentary outreach materials.

During the five-day awareness initiative in each country, CVSA jurisdictions will note human trafficking awareness and outreach efforts and projects and submit that data to CVSA. The results will be released in summer 2024.

To find out what your jurisdiction is doing to increase human trafficking awareness, contact the agency/department responsible for overseeing commercial motor vehicle safety within your state, province or territory.

The Human Trafficking Awareness Initiative is part of CVSA’s Human Trafficking Prevention Program. The program seeks to reduce human trafficking throughout North America through coordinated enforcement and investigative and educational awareness measures within the commercial motor vehicle industry.